Gifted
by silverdove0
Summary: After Richard escaped from the Valley of Perdition, he, Sister Verna, Kahlan, Cara and Zedd return to the New World and almost instantly come across, not one or two, but five works of unknown magic. The Keeper threatens Thandor and causes chaos.
1. 1 Thoughts and Return

After a day of walking in near total silence for the mourning of Leo, the second Seeker in a thousand years, the band of five passed through the exit of the Old World into the New World. Though Richard would never admit it, he didn't want to ever leave to Old World (though he could do without the deserts of Perstitia). In it it was peaceful. No rainy days--metaphoric or not. There was, in fact, not a single tear in the veil between the Underworld and the World of the Living. He knew if he stayed there forever, there might be the chance he could live there without a care in the world. The only problem would be the worries on the back of his mind about the New World. While the Keeper conquered that, would he be sitting on a beach with Kahlan? Or perhaps Cara?

He knew the whole of the Midlands, and more, depended on him getting the Stone of Tears and closing the rifts throughout the world. Though, he could not help but worrying that the prophecy might come true. The one that said he would give the Keeper the Stone. Richard would never! But, maybe he would. Maybe he was forced to. Maybe another Confessor had taken control over him and ordered him to bring it to the enemy of the Light. Verna, being a Sister of the Light, would never let him do this. Yes, they were friends, but, as sad as it seems, she would kill the Seeker before letting him betray the Creator, whether he was doing it knowingly or not.

Now they walked through the fog. Cara was thinking about Leo. She wished she had told him how she felt about him. He would probably be the only one's company she'd enjoy that much…

And Kahlan was thinking of how much power Nicci, the Sister of the Dark who took Richard's Han, had. Though, that was not her power. It was Richard's. He would have become a very powerful wizard if he had not given it up. Maybe there would be a way to get it back…

Verna was thinking along the lines of Richard. That and the fact she left the Temple of the Prophets for good now. She doubted the Prelate would take kindly to what she would call betrayal.

Zeddicus was thinking ahead, however, to the Stone of Tears. He did hope they would get their soon, as childish these thoughts sounded in his mind. What complications would they face while sealing off the Underworld? _How_ do you close the veils? He sure wished Richard hadn't given up his Han, though Zedd was glad he was with them, now.

Everyone's thoughts were interrupted with a soft rustling of leaves. A worn road was up ahead and someone seemed to be traveling on it.

"No one would go on that road with common sense!" Verna whispered. "There are still ___ in these woods!"

It was evident this was another thought and caution swarming the back of her mind.

Richard put a finger to his mouth and carefully rested a hand on the hilt of the Sword of Truth. They all crept forward and ducked behind a large rock overlooking the road.


	2. 2 Store of the Gifted

A girl, who looked the same age as Kahlan, was swiftly gliding down the road. She was tall and slim with flowing brown hair that went down to her abdomen. A long, navy blue cloak was over more blue. Gold thread decorated the edges. She almost looked like royalty. Even without the fact she wore a gold tiara-looking length of gold against her blanket of brown hair.

"Look at her sword," Kahlan said quietly.

All their eyes directed their attention to the golden and blue hilt. It had a much different style than any sword Richard had ever seen. It looked elegant, verses his sword and the so many others looked more like a tool for killing. This, however, was a piece of art.

The girl seemed to feel their eyes on her. She stopped abruptly and stroked the end of the hilt, looking around suspiciously. As she turned her head, here pale gold eyes shone in the little sun glistening through the canvas of leaves to the forest floor. Her face was in an expression of utmost concentration. Her jaw set, hand hovering over the gold handle of her weapon.

But with a long, fluid and positively graceful motion, her sword was pulled from it's sheath. It had a gold blade. The tip was pointed at the ground, but in such a position that it looked deadlier than pointed at the face. But, she was not facing where the five were crouched. She was turned to the road she had just came from. With a high war-cry, four women leaped from all around, onto the leaf-covered path. They were all in red and had the same three-bladed dagger Verna had. Sisters of the Dark.

The girl moved so fast she appeared to be teleporting. She dodged two daggers with agility. The gold blade flashed and the last Dark Sister fell with a muffled thud to the ground. But that wasn't the end. Four more Sisters came, headed by none other than Nicci. She was now a Baneling. A person who struck a deal with the Keeper: to lead a second life, and in return, to kill others. Richard was not surprised to see she had accepted the offer.

As one, the five rose and ran to join in the fight. Richard ran at Nicci with the Sword of Truth, blocking her Wizard's Fire with it. Zedd was also attempting to thwart her, but she was powerful. She had taken the Han of, not only Richard, but many other Sisters of the Light.

Kahlan, Cara and Verna were battling Nicci's remaining three minions. With a deep breath, the girl concentrated with all her might on what she was about to do. The air froze. The leaves did not move and nor did any of the Sisters. Or the Mord'Sith, or the Confessor, Seeker or wizard. The girl, however, walked over to Nicci and ran the gold blade through her stomach as a slight gust of wind brought everything moving again.

Richard stumbled in his running and the wizard stopped, mid-spell. In their eyes, the girl was ten feet away one moment, and the next she was twisting her blade into Nicci. Nicci gave a cry of pain and fell over, but there was no blood. In fact, with a twiddle of her fingers, the wound closed, but the moment she moved her head to look up, she burst into flames. Zeddicus had burned her. There was a short shriek of pain, but it did not last longer than a few seconds.

The two other Dark Sisters were retreating and Verna made to follow them but Kahlan held her back.

"We don't have time to go after them," she said quietly.

Meanwhile, the girl in blue had ripped a piece of silk off the dead Sister's many-layered dress and was wiping the blood from her blade. She tossed to cloth to the side, returned the sword to it's sheath and without a word, started making her way back down the road.

Richard ran up to her and touched her arm and said, "Wait," wanting to stop her to thank her, but, with another time-freeze that lasted not more than a few seconds, she spun around and punched him in the nose.

He stumbled backwards, clutching his bleeding nose.

"What was that for?" he asked, picking up the scrap of silk she had dropped a moment ago and tabbing gingerly at his nose.

"What was _that_ for??" She asked. Her voice was as elegant as her sword. "Who was it that grabbed my arm? You're lucky to still have both hands, Boy."

It was apparent she did not know who she was talking to. Cara came up behind the girl and gabbed her Agiel in her back. With a cry of pain she dropped to the ground. Breathing hard, she attempted to hold time back again, even if it was just for a second, but the weapon had taken a good amount of strength out of her. She only managed to hold for less than a half of a second, over and over again as she tried repeatedly. To the rest of them, she seemed to be twitching.

"Don't hurt her!" Richard had held Cara's arm back as she raised it to hit the girl in blue. "We don't even know who she is!"

"I'll find out." It was Kahlan who spoke this time. She forced the girls head up and grabbed her neck, but, with a jolt of fury, the girl in blue swung her foot around and tripped the Confessor to the ground.

"No! No, wait!" Richard said. "Let's just talk this out! Please, just tell us who you are."

"My name is Gemma," the girl said, after standing and giving him a long, hard look.

"Well," Zedd said, trying to assist Richard in making peace. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Zeddicus. This is Cara, Kahlan, Verna--"

"And Richard Rahl," Gemma finished for him. "The Seeker." The names Kahlan and Zeddicus were enough for her to know who the boy was.

"Yes," Verna said. "So you should show a bit more respect for his nose, as well as any other part of him."

"Forgive me," Gemma said sarcastically. "I forgot to ask. What are your traditions? Should I bow and say some prayers? Or beg you to allow me to kiss your feet?"

Without waiting for an answer, she turned and strode down the road.

"Wait, please!" Zedd said. "We don't mean to be intrusive, but we could do with some food and water."

"Zedd!" Kahlan whispered warningly.

Gemma stopped walking and turned.

"How do you know I don't have a home?"

"You can surely afford one, with cloths like that."

"What if I'm on the road all the time?"

"If you were you'd have a horse, at least."

"And if my horse was stolen?"

"No one would steal it out here on the edge of the New World."

Gemma considered the wizards reason.

"How do you know I, or any horse thief, would know this was near the end of the New World?"

Zedd paused and considered.

"I still think you live close by."

"And what makes you think that, again?"

"My gut."

Gemma gave him a small smile.

"Well reasoned." Gemma turned back to the road ahead. "Come." And she glided off.

They all marched through the woods into a grand treehouse. It had several flights of wood stair leading up the the main shelter. It was big and there were bridges crossing to other small huts as well as a few small complexes on the ground and lower in the trees. A woman that looked around sixty years old was walking across a bridge and spotted them.

"Gemma!" She called and ran down to them. It took almost a minute for her to reach them, but when she did she looked far younger. In fact, she now looked no older than Cara. The wrinkles had disappeared and her face thinned. Her lips crew slightly thinner and redder and her hair turned to black and wavy.

"This is Gwen," Gemma introduced. "She's a Morphi'lo."

"What's a Morphi'lo?" Kahlan asked.

"I can change my appearance at will," Gwen said.

"That could be useful," Richard said, impressed. "You could become… a Mord'Sith or… anybody."

"Well, no, I couldn't," Gwen said. "I can only change my personal image, not my cloths. See?"

Gwen's hair seemed to suck back into her head so her hair was shoulder-length and with bangs. It turned brown, then blonde, then yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, red, orange, brown again, and black. She grew about five inches taller and her nose shortened, mouth became smaller and eyes narrowed.

"Don't freak out if you find a whole different person tomorrow morning," Gemma smirked. "She's been able to do this for all her life but it never gets old for her."

"So, you're the Seeker, right?" Gwen asked Richard, glancing to the Sword of Truth as she changed back into herself. He nodded.

"Well, come up and you can meet the other."

"Others?" Cara asked suspiciously.

"Yes. There's five of us," Gwen said as they headed up the stairs. "All with special abilities."

"What kind of abilities?" Zedd asked.

"Like the ones me and Gemma have. All of us are unique, as far as we know, except Pearl." They reached the top level and was walked across the room. "There's only one other Listener as far as we know."

"We know him!" Richard said. "We took him to Thandor."

"How did you get all these special girls? Or are there boys?" Verna added.

"No, just girls, so far," Gwen said. She motioned to two couches. "Please, sit," she said. "Well we keep our ears open for any news. There was a girl we wanted to invite, though we don't know where she is. She's pristinely ungifted. Her name's Jennsen, I think."

"Yes, that's my little sister." Richard said.

"Is she, now?" Gwen said, her eyebrows raised. She turned her head. A girl who looked fourteen was in the doorway. Her eyes were a startling green and her brown hair went just below her shoulders and was layered.

"Ah!" Gwen said. "This is Pearl. She's our Listener. Pearl, this is Richard, Kahlan, Cara, Verna and Zeddicus."

"Who? Where is he? The other Listener." She pressed, without a greeting.

"His name is Renn and he's in Thandor," Kahlan said.

Pearl didn't answer.

"Pearl, go get Ritz and Em, please," Gemma said.

Pearl nodded and swept from the room.

A moment later two new girls entered the room. One was tall and blonde and seemed to have her mouth pointedly clenched tightly shut. The other was slightly shorter and looked more proud. Her posture looked like that of a Mord'Sith. She was not wearing dresses like the other girls, or a cloak like Gemma. She had a tight outfit of silver and dark green, like the style of Cara's outfit, but no leather and a bit more casual. She had poker-straight black hair that went to just below her shoulders.

"This is Rit'zah and Emory," Gwen motioned to the black-haired girl, and then the blonde. "Ritz and Em for short."

"And why are you 'special'?" Cara asked, a little harshly.

They both glanced at Gemma, who nodded. Emory opened her mouth, showing all her teeth. Her two canines were insanely sharp and dripping with a dark but clear liquid.

"Poisonous fangs?" Richard all but snorted.

"Would you like me to prove it?" Emory smiled slyly.

"Do not doubt it, Richard," Zedd said. "Magic can be born anywhere."

"And you?" Kahlan asked.

Within a second, a thousand spikes, two to three inches long each, protruded from everywhere on her body. She was like a human puffer-fish.

"The other three left," Gwen said, looking down, not wanting to meet any of their eyes. "They should be back within a few days."

"Where are they going?" Verna asked suspiciously.

"Thandor," Pearl said. She was standing in opposite doorway of Ritz and Emory.

"What??" Kahlan exclaimed. "Why??"

"I knew you would not like it," Gemma muttered.

"A tear in the veil that separates the Underworld to the World of the Living has been found in Thandor," Gwen said. "We are sending… missionaries, you could call them, to offer to take the children in."

"Thandor is magically protected from things like that," Kahlan said firmly.

"So the screelings appeared out of nowhere?" Ritz said. "The magic has fallen. Everywhere, not just Thandor. The Boundary is on the point of collapsing, too. A tear has been found running through it and it's been trembling ever since it's appeared."

Kahlan looked disgusted.

"The children are safe there," she said, stubbornly.

There was a short pause.

"Maybe it is safer here, Kahlan," Zedd said.

"_What??_" she cried.

"If what she says is true… the Sisters of the Light are no warriors."

Verna looked around in incredulity.

"With a few exceptions," he added quickly. "What I mean to say, is if all of these young ladies fight like Miss Gemma does…"

"So, she killed a few Sisters, so what? You just said they aren't warriors!" Kahlan all but yelled.

"They were Sisters of the _Dark_. She killed five _and_ she practically killed Sister Nicci," Richard said, starting to see the sense in Zedd's words.

There was another pause

"How'd you do that, anyway?" It had just dawned on him they did not know her power.

"A power," she said bitterly. "The same power you went through as you traveled 54 years in the future."

"Time?" Richard said in disbelief. "You can control _time?_"

"Yes. _Time_. I can stop time like you can stop a watch. I can make it slow and speed up. I just can't seem to make it go backwards…" She wrung her hands, her eyes unfocused.

"You shouldn't _try_ to meddle with things as delicate," Zedd scolded, which snapped Gemma out of her revery.

"I was _born _with this power," she snapped. "It isn't 'meddling' if it's the Creator's choice."

"Gwen! Gemma! Look!" Pearl was standing behind a small podium with a book lying across it, opened. "Marlin's writing back!"

Everyone rushed to her side, huddled around the Journey Book, that had words in bright red ink.

"Half way home. There are tree with us. Two boys, Renn and Henry, and a girl, Opal," Zedd read.

"Renn?" Richard said, a bit hystericaly.

Kahlan groaned.

"You have brought him and the other two children to their deaths!"

"You have gone too far, Confessor!" Ritz said loudly, as Emory's mouth opened wide, showing her pointed teeth, and she hissed fiercely. "You doubt out ability to protect? Now let me ask my sisters, have we ever had a loss? In the three years we came together, not one of us has even gotten close to death, have we?"

All of them shook their heads.

"That doesn't matter!" Kahlan hissed. "You haven't had the responsibility of three children!"

With a swift movement, Pearl spun around to face Kahlan and shoved her against the wall, her hand just below Kahlan's neck, almost like a Confession grip.

Kahlan's whole life seemed to flash before her eyes. Her and her sister's hands were bound while they sit in the corner crying. Then she was entering Thandor for the first time. A moment later she and Dennee set out on their journey to find the seeker. She was on the ground near a cliff, weak from just Confessing a Dahran soldier, while he and the unknown Richard fought off the other men. She was hugging Renn, saying goodbye as he whispered in her ear, "tell him how you feel. It'll be alright." She was in the enchanted painting, the library on the hill and Dahrans running down toward her, Richard, Zed, the painter, the librarian and her son. Kahlan was Confessing Richard, his eyes lit with red was she puts the Boxes of Ordon.

She glanced and recognized ten different scenes like that before she could see the present scene. Kahlan was a bit out of breath. Pearl had taken her hand away. Richard, just now noticing something had happened, drew his sword and stepped in front of Kahlan, facing Pearl. Using a bit of her power, Gemma drew her own sword and crossed it with his, to make sure he did not hurt Pearl.

"Put it down, Seeker," Gemma hissed.

"What did you do to her?" He hurled the words at her.

"I used my power," she responded simply, and strode to the other side of the room.

"I thought you were a Listener," Cara said suspiciously.

"I'm a special kind of Listener," Pearl said. "I can only read your thoughts by touching you, but I can read anything and everything you ever thought in your life."

"Useful," Sister Verna said, not keeping the words away from impressed.

"But dangerous!" Zedd said, seriously. "Do you have any idea what the opposing side of the war could do with that kind of power?"

"And that!" Gemma said. "Is exactly why we are together! Could you imagine if the Keeper could control time, too! All of us are in danger of being kidnapped. It's why you shouldn't deny us the ability to keep those who _choose_ to come here--" She looked pointedly at Kahlan. "--safe."

"The presence of three children won't weaken us," Gwen said. "Write back," she told Ritz, the one nearest to the book. "Tell them of our visitors and tell her to let Renn know some old friends will be meeting him at his arrival."


	3. 3 First Night and Light

Gwen, being the most motherly out of the five, showed them all where they would be staying, made them some dinner, and let them go to bed. Being biological sisters, two of the girl's room was let to Kahlan and Richard, who agreed to share one room, while Zedd used another. Cara resulted in sharing a room with Ritz.

"Do you trust these girls?" Kahlan asked Richard quietly.

"I don't know, yet," he answered in equally hushed tones. "They seem nice… but I see why you ask. They do seem a bit… shallow, but I know they're not."

Back in Ritz's room, Cara was looking out the tall window as Ritz paced.

"Don't you have a little pretty night dress you wear to bed?" Cara asked savagely.

"No," Ritz said, cooly. "Don't you sleep?"

"Not when others I don't trust are awake," Cara said.

"I'm surprised you say things like that aloud. Could get yourself _killed_," Ritz said slyly. "I guess it must be because you feel so… in control with you little torture sticks."

Cara stood up and faced Ritz. "I _am _in control," She said, smiling slightly, now.

"Oh, are you?" Ritz said sarcastically. "Well, excuse _me_!"

Before she could do anything about it, Cara pushed one of her Agiels into Ritz's abdomen, only long enough to make her gasp and give a small moan in pain.

"You may dress, or act all important or proud," Cara said smoothly. "But the word 'proud' can't apply to those who are weak. I'm trained to use pain to my advantage and to learn how to forget it."

Ritz laughed. "You may have learned to forget it," she said softly, gently taking Cara's wrist that was holding the Agiel tightly and raising it so they both could see it. Cara was stiffening, prepared for Ritz to try to shove it back. "But I don't take it."

With a soft _sht_ sound, like a dagger being pulled out of a medal sheath, long needle-like spikes drove into Cara's flesh on her wrist. Clenching her jaw and willing herself not to make a sound of pain, her hand grew weak and she dropped her red torturing device. As it thudded to the ground, the _sht _sound repeated and Ritz easily took her hand away from Cara's now bleeding forearm.

She looked into Ritz's face for a second and then dropped both her arm and gaze.

"Good night," She said sourly and went to sleep.

Zedd did nothing but started snoring.

In the morning, Cara was the first up. She jumped up like she was expecting to see Ritz standing over her with a knife. But she was on a hammock in a corner of the room, majestically lying with her back to the room, still sleeping. She still wore her green outfit.

"Asleep," Cara muttered. "Everyone's always asleep."

"Do Mord'Sith always talk to themselves?" Ritz had just woken at Cara's first word.

"Only," Cara said, rummaging in her back for a bandage. Her wrist started bleeding again. "When they want people to hear them."

"But you can admit, you didn't _think_ anyone _would_ hear you," Ritz said with a laugh as she jumped off her hammock.

Cara didn't answer as she pulled on her red gloves.

"I'm going to wake the others," she said stiffly and she walked out of the room, leaving Ritz with a small smirk.

Kahlan and Richard woke as Cara said, "it's morning."

"Where are we?" Kahlan asked in a small moan, her eyes still tightly shut.

"We're in Gwen and Gemma's treehouse," Richard said, confused. "Don't… don't you remember."

"Of course I remember," she said, to Richard's relief, slowly opening her eyes, only fast enough to see Cara walking out. "I just wish it was a bad dream."

"Kahlan…" Richard said. "I don't think you should worry about Thandor, or anyone who're there. These people will protect them. They don't lie."

"And how would you know," Kahlan asked, glaring at him.

"I don't," Richard said, with a slight smile. "But you do."

Zedd was awake and putting his socks on when Cara came in.

"Good morning," he said, brightly. "I'm hungry, aren't you? I hope they have breakfast."

Cara rolled her eyes.

In the main room, Ritz was punching holes in a cloth and hanging them up in the windows..

"It's too sunny," she answered to Cara's curious look. "I'm going to put them up in my room to keep out the heat, but let in the light." The Mord'Sith didn't reject.

Pearl was leaning over a fireplace, stirring a cauldron.

"I hope you like porridge," she said flatly.

"I _love_ porridge." Zedd smiled.

Gemma strode in, looking the same as the day before. On another side of the room, Gwen entered. She was wearing a long, black dress. Her hair matched her gown and she had grown a little taller, so the dress would not drag. Emory was right behind her, in a light blue outfit, not unlike Ritz's, but was a little more feminine.

"I'm going to meet up with Marlin, Macey, and Javalynn," Gemma announced. "We'll be back before dinner."

Gwen nodded and made for the door.

"Wait!" Kahlan said. "Cara will go, too!"

Gemma looked incredulously at Kahlan for a moment.

"To ensure their safe return."

"Ritz," Gemma said, not taking her eyes of the Mother Confessor. "Come?"

She nodded and followed.

"Kahlan!" Zedd said. "Don't be so rude!"

"I just want to keep the children safe," she replied with every ounce of politeness as possible. Everyone knew her response was untruthful.

"She can come, I don't care!" Gemma said, getting impatient.

"No," Zedd said firmly. "Kahlan, they are just as capable of keeping the children out of harm as Cara is. Madame Gemma and Ritz will go."

Kahlan opened her mouth to retort and Richard also looked on the verge of saying something.

"I'll go!" Cara all but yelled. "I'll go! I'm going! Rit'zah, Gemma and I will go and bring them all here safely!"

And she marched out, Ritz and Gemma following before anyone could say anything.


	4. 4 Mord'Sith's a Myth

They all watched as Gemma's cloak tail vanished around the door.

"I am dearly sorry, Madame Gwen," Zedd apologized for Kahlan. "We do not doubt you friends."

"No apology necessary," Gwen said. "Tea?"

"Oh, please," Richard said, trying to end the awkward silence and Kahlan's piercing glare at Zedd.

The rest of the morning continued in most silence, with the exception of a few "Pleases," "Thank yous" and "Your welcomes". The silence was broken by Sister Verna.

"So, do you have Merswith here, anymore?" She asked.

"No. They were driven out of these woods by the city ___," Em said, carving a piece of wood into a small figure. "But some steal the cloaks that make you invisible and use it to rob travelers or terrorize us. They don't live to see us, though."

"You kill these people?" Richard said, a bit angrily.

"They were the ones that cut down a branch of our home."

"But you can't just kill them," Kahlan said, having found another reason to criticize. "They can't learn if they're dead."

"We don't care if they learn," Pearl said. "As long as others take their disappearance to mean not to mess with the 'tree people'."

"Cara trooped into the woods with Ritz by her side. Gemma used her powers to glide in front. This march looked oddly symbolic. Like a princess with two guards.

"Sorry about your wrist," Ritz said, breaking the silence for the first time. She spoke quietly so Gemma wouldn't hear.

"I'm fine," Cara said. "I'm sorry about Kahlan. She's a bit oversensitive."

"Oh, you have no idea living with seven girls…" Ritz shook her head. "They can argue like…"

"Children," Cara finished for her.

"Yes."

"Kahlan can go a little… off. Once she started yelling at me for pulling a leaf out of Richard's hair."

"Wow," Ritz said. "Marlin starting shrieking her head off because Em dripped some venom on her diary."

"Diary?" Cara snorted.

"I know!"

"You wouldn't believe the things Kahlan's yelled at me and Richard." She adopted a high pitched voice. "'You had your hands all over him!' 'You want him, don't you??'"

Ritz developed the same tone. "'These are historical record's! How could you?! If you can't help it, drool somewhere else!'"

Gemma rolled her eyes at their moment of fun, but flicked her eyes to the side of the dirt road they were on. A few pheasants had flown up, disturbed by something. Cara and Ritz noticed it to. They all stopped. Cara pulled her two Agiels out, Gemma rester her right hand on her sword and Ritz took a combat stance. Cara glanced at her.

"Don't you have a weapon?" She said, looking around.

"I'm my own weapon," she sniggered.

At that moment, four men stepped out onto the road. The bore axes, a few swords, and big knives. Their dirty faces were smirking, like it was the girls' dirty idea to be women.

"Well, well, well!" The fattest of them jeered in a croaking voice. "Three little girls, out for a strole."

"Wait!" The shortest of them said. "Look, Jared! The leader has a weapon."

"Aww!" Jared laughed. "They wanted to fight us! Well, don't worry, girls, we won't hurt you."

He took a step forward and Cara started to raise her Agiel, but Ritz held it back. Jared approached them. The other three followed. The leader circled Gemma, analyzing her.

"She's pretty," he announced to his buddies.

"Oh, I don't know!" A square-faced man said in a droning voice. "I think I like this one."

He walked closer to Ritz. Cara had to work to keep from attacking as he sniffed Ritz's hair. With a jolt and a gasp of air, the man fell limp, though Ritz seemed to be holding him up with one hand. The _sht_ sounded again and he fell with a thud on the Earth. Eight or nine small holes were punctured into his chest where Ritz was touching him moments before.

"I told you, so!" the short one said, his voice high. "Didn't I tell you, Jared? And that right there's a Mord'Sith, she is!"

Jared had taken his knife out, just in case.

"_She's_ a freak, I'll give you that," he said, nodding to Ritz. "But don't be so ridiculous! Mord'Sith are just one of those fairy tales to scare you, Patrick."

"Are they, now?" Cara said, smoothly, slowly walking towards Jared, stopping only until she was within a foot of him. "So, is it also a myth that this, right here--" She held her Agiel dangerously close to his face. "--can kill you within an instant or cause insurmountable pain?"

"Y-yes…" he said, but not without doubt in his own word, showing.

"We'll see," she whispered, and pressed the long red weapon to his temple.

He screamed and screamed. His friends' expressions were of the utmost horror as they scrambled away, Patrick muttering all the way, "I told him, I told him, I told him…"

"You had fun with that, didn't you?" Cara said to Ritz, who was grinning.

"Oh, I'm just glad the Creator made a way for me to protect myself."

Gemma didn't laugh, or smile. She just started walking again.

Cara felt a bit… happy talking with Ritz. Like she had met her long lost sister.


	5. 5 Plans and Greeting

The next few hours were uneventful, for both parties. Zedd, Kahlan, Verna and Richard tried helping around the home, but they didn't seem to need it, so they set to devising a plan of were to go once they left.

"The compass is pointing East," Richard said. "That takes us to the Mord'Sith's temple."

"Not unless we don't find the Stone of Tears before that far," Kahlan said. "And the temples only four leagues from here!"

"Don't get your hopes up, Kahlan," Zedd warned. "It might be past the temple."

"Or in it," Richard groaned, realization dawning on him.

"But don't be so pessimistic, either," Zedd said sternly. "There's a 33% chance it's before, in, or after the bears' lair."

"I still think we should have a plan if we need to get in the temple," Richard said. "I don't think Cara will pass. She used to be the leader and I think all the Mord'Sith will recognize her to easily."

"Cara can teach me how to use the Agiel," Kahlan offered and at Richard's stern look, added, "Not break me, just teach me to be able to hold it and use it without half-killing me."

"No. There is the chance your face is too recognizable." Zedd shook his head. "They have been hammering wanted posters everywhere they can, of all our faces, including yours and Cara's."

"So now," Verna said sarcastically. "We just need to find someone who is willing to dress up as a demon, use and Agiel _and_ walk straight into a temple where Mord'Sith are positively crawling! And you forget they'll have to be able to change their appearance to _look_ like one of those monsters."

"That's not completely true," Zedd said. "We just need to find a girl on our side with long hair. It would be better if they did know how to use a real Agiel, though a can conjure a fake easily enough, along with the leather."

There was a short pause. They didn't want to put any friends' necks on the line, but this was a dangerous task and they needed someone they trusted.

"I'll do it." No one expected it. Not even Sister Verna, who sort of blurted it out. "I haven't been with you long enough for anyone to know that I'm not a Mord'Sith. I don't think anyone from the New World will know that I'm a Sister of the Light at all, with only a few exceptions. And Cara can teach me to use the Agiel. I've already been struck with it countless times."

"We can't let you do this…" Kahlan began.

"On the other hand," Zedd began, comprehension dawning on his face. "I think that'll work rather smoothly. We only need one more thing…"

"What?" Richard asked.

"I think we should see if we could find another 'Mord'Sith'," Zedd said. "They don't usually travel alone."

"I'll do it." Richard spun around. They didn't even hear Gwen come up behind them. She had changed her hair to blond and up it into a high braid. Her skin was fair, now and her eyes grey. "I'll do it," she said again.

"You will?" Richard said, sounding a bit childish and dumbstruck.

"Yes," she said. "I am the best in this world and the one under at disguising."

"That you are," Kahlan said coldly. "But you'll have to do more than that--"

"Yeah, Yeah, I heard. Train with the Agiel walk into the 'bears' lair'. The former won't be hard. I already have one."

"You have one what…?" Verna said slowly.

"An Agiel," Gwen said. "And I know how to use it, though I don't use it much."

"Where?" Kahlan asked, and from behind her Gwen pulled a red club-looking weapon with a short chain attached to the end. She held it tightly in her hand, her face only contorted a very little bit.

"I knew it'd be useful, someday," She laughed darkly. "But I never thought I'd use it to actually get _into_ a Mord'Sith temple with the Seeker… If you'll let me help you, of course."

"We'll… consider it," Zedd said. "I hope you understand. No chances can be taken with something so delicate."

"We don't even know if we'll have to," Kahlan said, a bit excited, despite Zedd's worry. "This all might be at the end a few leagues from here."

"Yes, of course," Gwen said, ignoring Kahlan. "Delicate. Naturally."

"We're here," Gemma said. Her, Cara and Ritz had just entered a clearing in the woods. An hour or so ago they had abandoned the road. The forest floor they now stood on now was mossy. There didn't seem to be any stones or dirt at all. It almost seemed magical.

"We're _where_," Cara asked. "It's in the middle of the woods."

"This is where we're supposed to meet them," Ritz explained, plopping on a log, so mossy it was hardly discernible against the ground. She pulled out the Journey Book from a little bag she had slung around her shoulder. She took out a quill and a small dagger. With the knife, she pricked her finger.

"Why don't you use one of your spikes," Cara asked curiously. Ritz held up her hand for Cara to see. She made spikes come out of it. She raised her other hand and pressed it's palm to her spiked hand. The spikes seemed to drive through her hand but no blood was drawn and it didn't seem to hurt Ritz at all.

"It's just not possible," Ritz said. Dropping both hands and pricking a finger again. She dipped the quill in the blood and began writing. A minute of scratching and Cara and Gemma pacing went by until Ritz snapped the book shut.

"I told them we were here and waiting," Ritz announced. "They should respond s-- well, speaking of." The book felt hot in her hands and she opened it again and began reading the words that showed up in red. "'Only a few minutes away. See you soon.'"

"Good," Gemma nodded and sat on the ground, too, her back against a tree.

Cara walked to a creek that ran silently near the clearing. She knelt next to it and drank.

"Ah ha!" Ritz had came up behind Cara very quietly and spoke in hushed tones. "Even the mighty Mord'Sith needs a drink." She was not taunting her, like the night before. Her voice was in a joking manner.

"Water gives strength," Cara said knowledgeably. "And strength gives power."

"But what if," Ritz continued. "You were drinking and I came up behind you and attacked. The water doesn't help then, now does it?"

"I would have reflected your image."

"Not if came came at you like… _this_." Ritz ducked down so the reflection of her could not be seen. As Cara started to turn, stand and see where she was, Ritz pushed Cara with her foot in the back. Cara stumbled over the creek and came down like a little bridge over it, hands on the opposite bank than her feet.

"You little….!!!" Cara half-shrieked, trying to jump back up, but not wanting to get wet. Gemma was snickering.

"It's not funny," Ritz told her. Cara looked over at Ritz's face, expecting an expression of sarcasm, but as Cara gazed at her, upside down, she saw Ritz was completely serious. "It helps us learn and eliminate our weaknesses."

Ritz grasped the leather at the back of Cara's neck and pulled her back to one half of the dry ground.

"Thanks," Cara muttered, brushing her hands off. "I--"

Cara cut off as there was a rustle of leaves and Ritz's head snapped to find it's source, spikes covering her again in an instant. Cara pulled her Agiels out, ready for a fight and Gemma jumped up and laid her hand on the blue and gold hilt, cautiously, but there was no need. Out of the trees three women walked, one in the front and two in the back. And in between them, two boys and a girl, all looking the same age as Pearl.

"Marlin, Macey, Javalynn!" Ritz smiled and greeted them.

"Rit'zah! Gemma!" The shortest of the three women cried, embracing them. She had short, curly blonde hair.

"How was the journey, Marlin?" Gemma asked her.

"Good, good," She replied.

"Safe and easy," The tallest one said. She had dark and straight hair and was very skinny.

"Though Renn here can't wait to see who his 'old friend' is that will be meeting him," said the third women, she looked a lot like Marlin, with short, curly and blond hair, though she seemed a little thinner. She was obviously Macey, Marlin's sister.

"I don't know you," one of the boys said, looking at Cara. Renn had red hair a freckles and had a confused expression on his dotted face. The three women glanced at the Mord'Sith worriedly.

"I wasn't with your 'friends' when they met you," Cara said. "But they are very exited to see you."

"I've been thinking," Renn told Marlin. "I've never really met anyone outside of Thandor that I would consider my friend…"

"_Now_ you tell us," The other boy said. He had short brown hair.

"… except…" He looked up at Javalynn excitedly. "It's Richard! And Kahlan! Isn't it? _Isn't it?_"

They smiled at him, an indication that he got it right.

"We should be off quickly!" Gemma said. She had higher spirits now that there was reasonable discussion to be had. "I told Gwen we'd be home before supper."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce these other two fine, young children!" Marlin said. "This is Henry. He can see the future, based one people's decisions," She grasped the boy's shoulder. "And this is Opal. She can sense the feelings of people around her." The girl had brown hair with big curls. Her face was pink with shy.

Cara and Ritz both nodded their greeting and Gemma smiled at them.

"Nice to meet you," She said. "We look forward to introducing you to the rest."

And they began their journey home.


	6. 6 Arrival of Friends

They all marched back to the treehouse. Gemma was talking with the three women about their journey and Henry and Opal stayed, for the most part, quiet. Renn, on the other hand, kept running up ahead, yelling for them to hurry. He was excited about seeing his friends.

"You shouldn't go so far ahead," Cara called up to him. "There are animals in these woods."

"And men," Macey pointed out.

"Like I said," Cara explained, keeping her face straight. "There are animals in these woods."

Ritz snickered at the thought of the men they had run into on the way to meeting the traveling party.

A few hours later, they reached the treehouse and Zedd greeted them.

"That's the wizard," Gemma told the women.

"Zedd!" Renn jumped up and ran up the stairs. He and Zedd weren't good friends, but they had met, and Renn was just too excited about being able to see Richard and Kahlan again. The rest walked up the stairs, beaming, with the exception of Cara and Ritz.

"Renn!" "Renn!" Richard and Kahlan smiled as Renn came up and hugged each of them.

"We thought we were going to be a bit earlier," Gemma said to Javalynn. "I thought we would be late."

"Yes," Javalynn laughed. "Well, Renn wanted to stop for pheasant and blackberry sauce. It seems that was what he always used to be served by the Dahrans before he entered Thandor."

Richard gave Renn a look.

"What?" Renn said, defensively. "I gave you a hard time about it, so I thought it would be fair to give them a time just as hard."

Kahlan laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, and Renn?" Kahlan said. "Thanks for the advice. That you gave me on our departure."

Renn smiled.

"So, I've seen you've grown quite a bit!" Zedd said. Renn shrugged in modesty.

"So," Sister Verna said pleasantly. "What are your friends' powers?"

"Well," Marlin said. "Me and my sister… we're… witches… of sorts."

"Of sorts?" Zedd asked.

"Yes," Macey said. "We have powers, but only in one element. I can control the element of Air."

"While I'm Water," Marlin said happily. Everyone looked towards the tall and slight Javalynn.

"Well," she said, a little sadly. "I have a shield"

"What do you mean?" Verna asked.

"Weapons stab and slash at me, but can't come within an inch of me. Nothing can."

"Nothing can come within an inch," Richard repeated, interestingly.

Javalynn glanced at her feet. Everyone else did, too, and Zedd, Verna, Kahlan, Richard and Cara realized that she was not standing on the wood. She seemed to be about an inch off the ground. She reached over to a nearby table where a wood cup sat, and reached for it. Before it made contact with her skin, it moved away until it fell off the table, and then stopped again a little above her other hand she had outstretched. She raised it and tossed it in the air again, always to have it never touch her skin.

"That," Zedd laughed. "Is _interesting_."

Javalynn smiled.

"So," Macey said. "This is Opal and she has a beautiful power. Tell them what you can do, Opal."

The girl was very shy and hid behind her hands. The words she spoke were only just audible.

"Glow," She said.

"Glow?" Kahlan asked, thinking she must've misunderstood the girl, but she nodded.

"You can hardly see it unless she's in the dark, but it's the most fantastical power I have ever seen!" Marlin said, grinning.

"This is Henry, he can see the future based on decisions we make. It's almost as good as mind reading," Javalynn said, nodding at the other boy. "And, of course, you know what Renn can do. The most useful piece of magic I can think of."

"Well, almost," Emory said, snickering a bit. She had just arrived from hunting. "Nothing compares with out little freak," she said playfully. Renn gave her a questioning look. She stepped aside to reveal where Pearl stood. She was silent and still.

"Why?" Renn asked. "What can she do?"

"The same thing you can," Gwen said. "Only more informational."

Pearl stepped forward till she stood in front of Renn and touched his hand. Memories flashed before his eyes like it had with Kahlan. His home, thieves and gamblers, the Dahran soldiers taking him, Richard and Kahlan, Thandor and then the travel here.

When Pear pulled her hand away from his, Renn gasped back to the present. He breathed heavily and then said.

"What was _that_?" He asked in astonishment.

"I'm a Listener, too, but I can only Listen when I'm touching the person. But, I can also hear and see any thoughts you ever had," Pearl explained in a quiet voice.

"Wow," Renn breathed.

Zedd glanced at the two staring at each other and grinned.

"Cara," he said pointedly. "We need to show you what we are planning."

She nodded and walked out of the room, but turned around and approached Ritz.

"Come with me?" she asked.

"I don't think there is a point of me seeing your plans," Ritz said, her eyebrows raised at this unexpected question.

"I mean," Cara said. "Come with us to find the Stone of Tears."

Ritz looked at her suspiciously. "What brought this on?"

"You're a good fighter," Cara said innocently. "The more people that come, the better chance we have of defeating the Keeper."

Ritz smiled. "I have some things to do for now, but I will definitely consider your offer and will have my decision by your leaving date. For now, discuss it with your friends. I don't think the Mother Confessor likes me much and the other two are very hesitant to trust any of us."

Cara nodded respectfully and left to meet the others.


	7. 7 Invitations and Frustration

"You've never met another Listener before?" Renn asked Pearl, hopeful. To his disappointment, she shook her head. "I haven't either. I thought I was the only one ever for a while, too. But when I met the Seeker and Confessor, they told me that there have been others like me. Other Listeners."

"I didn't think there was another like me either for a long time," Pearl agreed.

"But, there isn't anyone like you," Renn said with a smile. "You're different that anyone. Even me." When her face fell a bit he added, "You're special."

She looked up into his eyes and smiled a little back.

"You seem surprised I think of you that way," he said, looking back into Pearl's face. She looked quickly down at her feet again.

"No one calls me special. Only freak."

"For most of my life… me, too," Renn agreed.

"I wish I knew what _you_ were thinking," Pearl whispered, looking at his hand, now.

"I would let you… but you'd know what I had ever thunk in my life," he laughed.

"But I already know that," she said, puzzled.

"...You don't know anything from the last five minutes," he said quietly. It was his turn to look down at the ground now, embarrassed. Pearl looked at Renn in awe.

"I offered to let Rit'zah come with us," Cara said the moment her friends were in earshot. They all looked around in surprised.

"Cara," Richard said. "We don't know if we can trust them to that extent yet. She–"

"_I_ trust her," Cara said firmly. So firmly, Zedd and Kahlan exchanged startled looks. There was a pause.

"If you trust her, then she may come along," Zedd agreed. "_But_, don't expect us to trust her as much as you do. We both know you're used to doing things different than us, and I'm confident you base most of your trust on those things."

Cara nodded. And sat down on the ground around the map sitting on the floor. There were little trees, marking the forests, and a box that had fancy lettering in it saying "Jiraan". Mountains were symbolized by angles, though only a few were on the map. Roads were drawn by dotted lines and there were some labels here and there.

"This," Verna said, bringing the conversation back on track. "Is where we are." Her index finger tapped a place in the middle of the woods. Inches away there was a line that went through the map. On the other side it said "Old World". "Jiraan is what the Mord'Sith Temple used to be called by Dahrans before Darken Rahl fell. So just through trees and fields to get there. We'll figure out the details to that later. But, if the compass still points past Jiraan, we have to go across this plateau. Sisters of the Light call them the Mesa of Torpefy. Once you climb upon the desert-like plain, you're legs from you waist down become crippled. Immobile and paralyzed."

"What is it with all these landforms that disable?" Kahlan sighed. "A valley puts you into a highly realistic voo-doo dream and then a plateau that makes you go lame. You'd think the sorcerers that made these things would give it a rest." She shook her head as Richard gave a small chuckle.

"We need to figure out a way to get through there," Verna said seriously. "Just in case. It would do no good to go wandering in, not considering the consequences."

"Zed can just levitate us out, right?" Richard said quickly.

"Yes, Sister Verna," Zed said. "I am a wizard. I am quite good with magic."

"Can you do magic with half of you gone?" she said sharply. It was evident she didn't find this at all a joking matter.

"Half of us won't _be_ gone," Cara said. "We'll still have our legs, but they just won't work."

"Your legs will still be visible, yes, but that is not what defines _having_ them," she replied sternly.

"Yeah," Richard said, irritable now at Sister Verna for being so strict with them all. "But having them still attached with your torso does!"

"No, it doesn't, Seeker!" Verna practically yelled angrily. "Blood doesn't flow through them! You can't use them! All they do in that pass is get in the way! Pull you down! Drag behind you!"

"Sister," Zed said, surprised at her sudden outburst. "No need to get loud. We understand. Richard, Cara, we will think of a different plan in the event that my magic will _not_ work."

Sister Verna looked down, shameful of her anger and snappish attitude to them all.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I–I've been there before."

"Well, I'm glad," Richard said. "We'll need someone who knows the area and we're thankful we have you to tell us what will happen once we get to it."

"You might be glad," Verna said sadly. When no one replied she went on. "There were five sisters when we started out looking for you, Seeker. Sisters Caroline, ___, Brasha, Shrail, and me. One was killed by a villager's arrow. He thought us thieves. He apologized for a long time. Crying about how the creator would never forgive him for killing one of her children. He meant it… but it didn't bring Brasha back. Shrail was killed when we passed the mesa. Our Han was useless in that forsaken place. We dragged ourselves, and each other a few times. Water was there, but it would have wasted hours, possibly days to lug ourselves so out of the way. Shrail lost her life because of heat exhaustion. It was too soon! She had grown up in the mountains and she died well before we were low on water. She was not strong. Devoted to the Creator and the Light, but she was no adventurer. The only reason she wanted to come is that she thought it would redeem her of a crime she committed. So little a crime, only one thought to have done it would be a child. She had taken a bunch of flowers from a vase in the main hall and left the Temple in search for a boy she had loved, only to find him married and his wife with child. She thought it was her fault that she left him to become a sister, and then felt terrible in thinking it wrong to want to become a Sister. She was so confused about her life. Her choice to come to us was one of those things you just think of. Like waking up one morning and thinking, 'I'm going to become a vegetarian'." Verna shook her head, wiping her wet eyes with the red silk that draped from her head.

"I am so sorry, Sister," Zed said, looking sadly at her. "This time, we'll be prepared to get across; even without magic."

Everyone turned as there was a little tap on the open door. Gwen was standing there, almost as tall as Zed, but incredibly younger, now with the same face but a head of bright red hair.

"Dinner's almost ready," she said. "Come wash up. Em had only too much fun catching some quail and potatoes with a creamy sauce will be companions in the stew."

Zed stood up instantly. "I can't tell you how _famished_ I am. I'm right behind you!"

Gwen turned with a smile and led them to the main room again. She motioned towards a washing basin.

"There's water inside. If there isn't enough, There should be some over here…" Gwen poked her head out the small window and reached her arm out. As she pulled it back in, a large, leather bag hung from a rope was brought in. "Yes. Some in hear. It rained… two days ago I think. Only a few hours, but enough to last a week, plus extra from the last dozen days. I'll get Ritz to get it… Ritz! Rit'zah! Yes dear, bring this up on your way!"

As she pulled her head back into the shade, she released the pouch to sway in the air.

"You girls seem to keep things running well here!" Richard said as Kahlan poured water over his soapy hands. "It's all in a system."

"Yes, Seeker, we do try," said Emory. She was not noticed before, standing over a cauldron full of a light, bubbling liquid that was hanged over a fire. "It's all organized. Our plants are grown up here, in the trees; they do seem to like it better. When rain comes seldom, we have a well down under the tree twelve paces north of here. We get milk from nearby towns, merchants passing by, plants that produce a milk slightly more bitter than that of a cow, or we go without any. Ritz and I enjoy the hunt, but I like it only for the sport. It's not as fun when I can't attack with my instincts. The venom in my fangs, I dare-say, would kill us all if it was left in the animal and it's just to much trouble to go through cutting out the infested areas or trying to suck the poison out. Anyway, I normally use a bow and arrow. We make most everything we use, or else trade it off travelers. Pearl is a fair healer and botanist so she can heal most wounds we receive with plants or doctoring skills. Only once we had to go to a town for medicine. When Pearl, herself was dropped unconscious by a poisonous spider bite."

"Do you ever encounter soldiers or villagers who try to attack you?" Richard asked, drying his hands as Zed took his turn at the wash basin.

"All the time!" Gemma said. "Mostly just drunken Dahrans or bums that take pleasure in vandalism and making people's lives as miserable and difficult as humanly possible. We have four bases in the matter. First, we ask them to go. Second, we threaten them. Third we try to get them out with force. You know, poke them in the butt a few times with an arrow or have Ritz get a _firm grip_ on them and pull/push them away. And last, and most undesirable for us to do, I assure you, is to kill them." Gemma added more at the shocked/angry look on the travelers' faces. "We don't want to do it. You must understand! They burn our trees and stairs up to where we sleep. Not less than four times have they come up and tried to violate us. Gwen can't fight. Neither can Pearl. Ritz does seem to have a little fun with it, though, if it's only her in danger. She takes risks and savors in the challenge of taking on four men at a time."

"Enough!" Gwen said. "No more talk of killing. Eat, now!"


End file.
